Posts Tagged ‘Article I Section 8 Clause 11’

War Powers, War Lies: Part 2: Imperfect War

Thus the Supreme Court’s solution to the problem here was to rely on Congressional authorization of war as a sufficient substitute for Congressional declaration of war. The Court never directly addressed the ship-owner’s point that the Constitution speaks only of declarations of war, not of authorizations. The Framers would have been spinning in their graves.

War Powers, War Lies: Part 1: Original Intent

In short, the power to give or withhold a declaration of war was generally viewed by the Founders as tantamount to the power to decide whether hostilities would take place, with the well-recognized exception of defense against direct attack. This placed the real war-making power in the hands of the Congress, not the President.